My Trip to JASDF (Part 2)

Hello, everyone~!

I'm going to talk about the rest of the report of the trip to JASDF. I've been reviewing the experiences I've had and what I've seen there, I came to think it really was a nice opportunity! It was not only interesting but also the chance to get closer to the things about public service.

After getting off the helicopter, I got on the bus to go to the dinning hall for lunch. There are two kinds of dinning halls, and the place the people eat is decided by the military class they belong to. The one I visited was called "曹士食堂"(sou-shi-shoku-dou), and it means that sergeants and soldiers can eat there. Actually, those who are qualified as sergeants and soldiers have to eat there because it's a part of their obligations, and what they eat is paid by taxpayers. So they can't waste it. To my surprise, The base has a unit which is taking charge of just making meals every day. What a self-sufficient! Talking of food, you're wondering if it tastes good or not, aren't you? So I put the picture of the meal I ate on the day! It looks classic, and it did remind me of the days I enjoyed eating school lunch when I was a junior high student. It was well-balanced and low-fat meal, I think. In addition to that, it was delicious! I just didn't expect it to be that yummy, so I was almost impressed. Ha! Ha!

There's actually one more thing I enjoyed doing while I had lunch there. I had the chance to talk with the women who has served there as a general member of the Self-Defense of Forces. The number of women who serve there is still small, but I think it's been on the rise. The woman I talked with has joined the Force after she graduated from her university. She had thought about working as a person who contributes things she's good at to the world, and decided to take the exam to be where she is now. She said that she will be sent to Kuwait as a part of the mission conducted by the Japanese government. I just hope that she'll be safe there, and do what she needs to do. Even though I already knew that the government has been making efforts to help the situation of the Middle East improve by sending our people from the Force, I was surprised to know that the woman next to me who enjoyed eating lunch with me will soon go there. The fact that she talked about it so casually also surprised me. However, it somehow shows that she is ready for the mission, and that we don't have to worry about it because she seemed to be just fine.

After the tour, I started thinking about the defense of my country deeply and differently from the past. It also adds a new perspective to the issues of the Middle East where the Japanese government has gotten involved as an ally of the US, and contributor to the international community. Finally, I think I was able to find that everything we do as a country would all be connected globally by touring one of the national government places in Japan.

We rarely have an opportunity to think about our own force of defense because our troops are only intended to defend our country. Also, we tend to have an atmosphere which does not allow ourselves to talk about it because mentioning about the Force could be taken as an implication of wanting to go to war. The issues of the Force are really complicated in terms of politics. The tour, however, made me realize the importance of listening to the voices of the people working there, and getting to know the reality.

I put the rest of the pictures I took on the day on bubbleshare. Enjoy!

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That's all for today!
See you soon~.